Chapter 96 - 95: Gray Thorn Bee Swarm

Chapter 96: Chapter 95: Gray Thorn Bee Swarm

The team continued to advance and explore. The attack and injury of a single Mage Apprentice would not affect the entire team’s operation. Moreover, this was to be expected. How could there be no casualties when opening up a wasteland?

Actually, if it weren’t for the newly born Earth Veins, almost no Earth Vein Creatures would have appeared within a two-kilometer radius on both sides of the official road, given the round after round of sweeps by Mages over the years.

But now, everything was different. The Earth Vein Creatures surging from the new Earth Veins were not like the ones that had practically become natives, who knew that the area near the official road was human territory and shouldn’t be approached. Furthermore, the deep mountain forests far from the official road were basically occupied by the old Earth Vein Creatures. In comparison, these cleared-out transitional zones had instead become unclaimed lands in the eyes of the new Earth Vein Creatures, making them the best places to settle.

"Over there!" Spiritual Light flickered in the eyes of the leading middle-aged Mage, who had discovered the Earth Vein Creatures first this time. The crowd in the team followed his gesture and looked over.

A towering tree stood in the distance. It was estimated to be over ten meters thick, and its trunk was black as iron, covered in cracks. Within those cracks, black insects resembling wasps could be seen clinging to the surface. These black insects lay motionless on the trunk, their color perfectly blending with the bark. If not for the middle-aged Mage pointing them out, they would have been extremely difficult to notice.

"Gray Thorn Bees, 0th Ring Earth Vein Creatures. The sharp stingers on their tails can be fired. An individual Gray Thorn Bee doesn’t pose much of a threat, but they always appear in swarms and are extremely afraid of fire," the middle-aged Mage quickly explained the insects’ information. "Raise your hand if you have mastered a Flame Attack Magic."

Seven or eight hands were raised sparsely, including Gaode’s. Out of more than twenty Mage Apprentices, only about a third had mastered Flame Attack Magic.

"Attack with me. Try to wipe out the majority of these Gray Thorn Bees in the first wave.

"Among the rest of you, those who have mastered Area-of-Effect Attack Magic, get ready. After we attack, you will immediately launch the second wave of offensive to clean up," the middle-aged Mage issued simple combat commands.

He could only give such simple combat commands. First, they were a temporarily assembled team and didn’t know each other’s strength or the Magic they had mastered. Second, they wouldn’t be able to coordinate for an overly complex battle plan anyway. Under these circumstances, a straightforward and simple tactic was actually the most suitable. The crowd nodded in agreement.

Then, following the middle-aged Mage’s order, the Mages who had mastered Flame Attack Magic quickly channeled their Magic Models. Gaode took a deep breath, suppressing the excitement in his heart—Gray Thorn Bees were exactly his favorite social Earth Vein Creatures!

He also channeled the [Flaming Arrow+] Magic Model. A scorching aura immediately permeated the surrounding air as everyone cast their respective Flame Magic. Several clusters of magically conjured flames of various shapes intertwined in the air to form a small sea of fire, roaring toward the swarm of Gray Thorn Bees clinging to the tree trunk.

The most prominent display of power among them naturally belonged to the Magic released by the leading middle-aged Mage. What slightly surprised Gaode was that the Flame Attack Magic the middle-aged Mage released was actually also a [Flaming Arrow], exactly the same as his. Of course, whether in power or momentum, it surpassed his by more than just a notch.

Gaode thought rapidly, "High-Ring Mages still use Low Tier Magic. At the same time, as a Mage’s Same Tier increases... the power of the Magic will also increase..."

BOOM!

The Flame Attacks arrived one after another, triggering slight explosions upon hitting physical objects. The swarm of Gray Thorn Bees was alarmed by this sudden Flame Attack. They flew about in a panic, but the flames spread too fast. In an instant, a large number of Gray Thorn Bees were engulfed with a loud SIZZLE.

The swarm of Gray Thorn Bees clearly did not possess any special traits. Roasted by the flames, they turned into flying ash without much of a struggle. With just this single wave of offensive, the Gray Thorn Bee swarm attached to the towering tree was already reduced by more than half. Startled, the remaining Gray Thorn Bees immediately flew out from the trunk. Even after a round of sweeping, these remnant Gray Thorn Bees were still densely packed, making it look as if several clouds of gray mist had taken flight from the trunk.

BUZZ!

These dark clouds emitted an irritating buzzing sound. They crossed the gradually subsiding line of fire and surged toward Gaode’s direction, seemingly preparing for revenge. However, the Mage Apprentices who hadn’t attacked in the first wave and possessed Area-of-Effect Attack Magic now released their long-prepared Magic. Among them was the [Acid Splash] that Gaode was extremely familiar with, as well as toxic gas attacks. One person even cast Thunder Magic, which made Gaode cast a sidelong glance.

However, the Mages in the team were mostly Wild Mages, so the methods they had mastered were very limited. Counting carefully, there were only six people casting Magic in the second round. That is to say, in this entire temporary team—which was specially selected to be composed of Wild Mages who had mastered Attack Magic—half of them actually lacked any Area-of-Effect Attack Magic...

Was it because they didn’t want to learn it? Definitely not; they simply had nowhere to learn it. The Magic Formulas publicly sold by the Mage Association were all functional Magic. Learning and mastering Attack Magic had always been an extremely difficult task for Wild Mages. This made Gaode sigh once again at the difficult living environment for Wild Mages under the monopoly of knowledge.

After the second round of Magic, the approaching gray clouds were depleted by more than half again. Gaode and the others who had mastered Flame Magic had also released their second round of Magic to attack. Flames burst forth in an instant, immediately clearing out a large area again, eliminating an unknown number of Gray Thorn Bees.

However...

After these two rounds of engagement, a small portion of the Gray Thorn Bees finally managed to close in.

SWISH SWISH SWISH!

The next moment, these Gray Thorn Bees raised their tails. Stingers fired like raindrops, shooting toward the Mages in the team. Although a single Gray Thorn Bee was only the size of a thumb, the power of their stingers could not be ignored. Piercing through several layers of clothing was not a problem at all, and their numbers were simply too great, densely packed together.

Gaode’s heart skipped a beat. In his Magic Star Sea, Mana flashed across another Magic Model. Without him making any movement, a grayish light flashed across the skin of his entire body.

[Blade Protection+]!

THUD THUD THUD!

About twenty stingers shot toward Gaode. However, as these stingers hit his skin, they were deflected as if they had struck a layer of highly elastic cowhide.

The others were not so lucky. Either they hadn’t mastered Defense Magic, or they couldn’t react in time. More or less, everyone was injured by the stingers shot by the Gray Thorn Bees. Some particularly slow-reacting individuals who couldn’t cover their faces in time instantly suffered tiny puncture wounds on their faces. Blood seeped out, making them look exceptionally hideous.

Seeing this scene, Gaode couldn’t help but secretly rejoice that he had added the Fierce Bat’s Origin Points to [Blade Protection]. The single Casting motion that had been exempted after adding points allowed his Casting speed for [Blade Protection+] to be completed almost within a single thought.

Most 0th Ring Earth Vein Creatures did not possess Extraordinary Power and were merely stronger beasts. Under these circumstances, [Blade Protection], which increased Physical Resistance, was far more practical than [Enhance Resistance], which increased magic resistance. Fortunately, after these few rounds of sweeping, the Gray Thorn Bees’ numbers had been drastically reduced. The stingers shot by these remnant Gray Thorn Bees had not yet reached the level where quantitative change led to qualitative change. Therefore, although many people were injured, they were mostly minor injuries, and no one’s life was in danger.

Gritting their teeth, the Mage Apprentices temporarily ignored the painful and numb sensations coming from their wounds and cast their Magic once again to sweep out the remaining Gray Thorn Bees. Acid, toxic gas, and lightning burst forth in succession.

After this wave of attacks, the bees could no longer maintain a swarm. Only a sparse patch remained, scattering in retreat amidst buzzing sounds and disappearing into the dense forest.

"If Gray Thorn Bees are not in a swarm, they don’t pose much of a threat." Seeing this scene, the leading middle-aged Mage did not pursue them relentlessly.